Romance in Naranja

Chelsea WFC v Real Madrid Femenino in Group B of the UEFA Champions League at Stamford Bridge

The Blues are back in Champions League action with the first of their group games being Real Madrid at home. On paper it looks easy for the Blues as they have beaten Real Madrid at the group stage for the last 2 years. Also in the group are Celtic and FC Twente who are both on their first group stage adventure. Hope they have fun but are eventually unsuccessful. Chelsea have started the season well and have maximum points after a narrow win against Villa and then putting 7 past Palace at GGL. Their sold out WSL game against Man Utd was postponed at a weeks' notice on the grounds of player welfare. The biggest change is that Emma has gone to manage USA, oh yeh, and she won the Olympics with them this summer. Emma just being Emma. The Blues now have Sonia Bompastor who we last saw as Lyon manager in Bilbao. This is an easy banana skin for the Blues tonight. Las Blancas, seen here in a very Dutch  Orange , still have Linda Caicedo, Caroline Wier, who has escaped the ACL gang, and signed Melanie Leupolz from the Blues in the summer. There are a few new faces for the Blues.  French winger, Sandie Baltimore has signed from PSG. Sandie is at left back and on the right is familiar face, Lucy Bronze , fresh from winning the Champions League with Barcemoana. In the centre of defence are Millie and Natalie. Hannah is behind them in goal. Joining Nusken in the middle is new signing Wieke Kaptein who arrives at Chelsea after signing from Twente a year ago and spending the season there on loan. LJ is the 10 so will be drifting everywhere or no-where and taking the place of Fran who has gone to Brighton along with Cankovic👍🏼. Up front are JRK, Guru and Mayra. Las Blancas have lost Hayley Raso to Spurs so no ribbon to watch for tonight. Linda C is on the bench thankfully. Let's get on with it.   

The Liquidator starts up and the crowd are on their feet ready to go. Only the players don't come out and the music stops. A couple of minutes go by and were off again. This time the players come out and line up. It's Zecira in green and not Hannah who must have had an issue in the warm up.  After the false start, it finally underway. JRK is full of beans and wins a corner in the first minute. It's not cleared and JRK's cross ends up in the back of the net. There scorer is not announced so it must be an O.G ⚽.  Goal is a goal. Need some more beforetMadrid find their feet. The high energy press lasts for about 5 more minutes. Wieke Kaptein has a nasty clash with the pitch side advertising. She seems OK after a while. The visitors get a chance on 16 but Maria Mendes heads over from the corner. The rain starts to gets bit heavier. A orange shirt shot is easily caught by Zecira. The rain gets even heavier. Chelsea get a corner on 30. Nusken is fouled in the box and the ref gives a pen. Gura does her thing ⚽. 2-0. A double save from Zecira on 32 keeps the lead but the pressure on the hosts is building in the pouring rain. There is a scramble in the Blues box on 39 and Redeondo blasts home. I think the Blues are happy when the break comes. 2-1.

Chelsea are back up to speed and starting to apply pressure again. Weike's shot is deflected and saved as the Blues dominate. Some good wing play leads to LJ ghosting into the box and her cross finds the head of Mayra. It goes high and looks like it over the bar but it drops just under and into the net⚽. 3-1. The Whites respond by bringing on Lida Caicedo. She might be a handful, depending on where she plays. LJ is fouled by Teresa Abelleria. It's not a booking but she then reacts and gets booked for opening her mouth. Big cheers from the crowd. Guru and Mayra both have good chances from LJ crosses. Sonia makes some changes on 66 with Lawrence replacing Baltimore and Hermano replacing Kaptein. Into the last 15 and the important 5th goal could go either way. Feller comes on for Castillo and is an immediate threat. JRK is replaced by OJF for the Blues. It's been a great shift from the Swedish winger. It's the Spaniards applying the pressure now. A cross into the Blues box is not dealt with and Caicedo prods it home on 83. 3-2. Oops. A tough last ten minutes ahead. The Blues soak up the pressure though and see out the win. Aaannnd breath. Glad those Madrid subs came on so late. Phew.😰

A first Champions League win for Sonia but it was far from convincing. The early energy faded quickly but the side has been depleted by a sickness bug in the week so not all are at their peak. It turns out that Erin, who is just back from injury, got a knock in training. Cat Macario and Megan Fox were also unwell. With no keeper on the bench, it was apparently decided which outfield player would go in goal. We don't know who it was and probably never will . If we had to guess, and we can't resist, it would be Natalie Bjorn. She looks a bit like a keeper. The Blues performance was lacklustre on the whole but there were a few moments of brilliance. They sat back too much and it became difficult to get down the wings with any success. The penalty looked a bit soft but we'll take it, or rather Guru took it and she doesn't miss those. The weather was awful for parts of the game and there was some slipping and sliding. We were over on the far side so couldn't hear Sonia instructions. She's not Emma 📣.  Saying that, no-one could hear much over the Madrid keepers constant screaming. We like a shouty keeper but it was a bit too screechy. There was some good noise from the Stamford Bridge crowd, mostly at the back led by Basil but there were other small pockets of fans giving the girls support from the stands. It's a good start and 3 points on the board. FC Twente top the group after match day 1 as they beat Celtic 2-0. Their first time in the group stage but they could be tough opposition for the Blues when they head there next Wednesday. Sure Chelsea will get a warm Dutch welcome. And any tea drinkers need take their own milk as they drink it with lemon over there. Or just drink coffee like normal people. That's it for us in London this week.

POTM: Goes to JRK 🏅 for her ridiculous level of energy. Blew the Spaniards away from the first whistle.

Ref: All the officials had a good game especially considering the conditions. They intervened only where necessary and didn't fall for any of the Spaniard's theatrics.

Basil watch: Met him at the main entrance and heard him for most of the game.

Bottle top news: All bottle tops were left intact.

See you on Saturday

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

West stand rules

Two little ducks, Lucy Bronze

Stamford and Bridget

We're only here for the Basil

Enjoying the train to London

Anarchy in the MK

Tranmere Rovers FC v Milton Keynes Dons at Stadium MK in EFL League 2

The Rovers are away to MKDonalds on a surprisingly sunny October day in Buckinghamshire. It’s back to back Tranmere games for the first time in a good while. It wasn’t planned that way but Newhaven away at Roffey was rained off in the week so here we are at Stadium MK. Not that we are complaining but we are hoping for a better result and/or performance than at Gillingham. The Rovers have had mixed fortunes since we last saw them but got a draw at home to Swindle in the week with a good goal from Dennis and looking likely to take 3 points until Chris Merrie equalised with an own goal. A point today would be a good result as MK have just scored 5 goals away at Harrogate. The SWA are back in the lower tier so we get a much better view and can spread out in the sunshine 😎. We are joined today by special guest, Robbie of the Rovers. Not seen him since we were away at Forest Gumps. The team is changed a bit with Zak Bradshaw in at left back. It looks like a midfield 3 of Lee O’Connor, Chris Merrie and Saidou Khan. Khan has just been called up for the Gambia squad so will be away with the Scorpions playing Madagascar twice in Morocco in the AFCON qualifiers. Looks like he will be the only player away in the international break as LOC didn’t make the R.O.I. squad this time round. It looks like a front 3 of Patrick and Morris with Dennis in the middle. That’s both out league goal scorers in the front row. We haven’t been in great form but are starting to scrap a bit harder and got that draw against Swindle. No sign of Connor today. Hopefully just resting him. He always gives 110% on the pitch so he will be missed. There are no familiar faces in the hosts who are now barred from Betty’s Tea shop after the battering they gave Harrogate. The crowd looks bigger than last time we were here. Come out for the sunshine, probably not the sparkling football on display. We’ve had a pre-match cheeky Nandos 🌶🍗 so it’s time to settle in the sunshine in the comfy seat and watch the match.

The Rovers are straight on the attack and get a corner in the first minute. It comes to nothing and the energy only lasts a few more minutes. It turns into a typical mid-table game with little quality on display . We are getting some joy down the left with Zak and Omari. We get another corner on 12 and Kieron gets a shot off only to see it saved. Zak gets a shot in on 15 but it goes wide. Lots of turnovers and little fouls. The MK are very unsteady on their feet and seem to fall over very easily. MK get a corner that eventually ends in a goal from close range on 23. Not what we needed with our own difficulties in finding the net. It's LOC’s turn to have a shot but his effort is saved, There is some more scrappy football and some more falling over but the half finishes 1-0 to the hosts.

The Dons are the better side after the restart but there is no sign of the beautiful game here. Kristian Dennis is on the team sheet and apparently on the pitch but not sure why. Not in the game at all. He is thankfully replaced by Harvey Sauders. Things don’t improve as Omari is replaced by Josh Davison. Regan Hendry replaces Kieron Morris, Hopefully he will bring some skills to the energy provided by the other subs. Josh and Harvey are trying to play the same game and keep getting in each other's way. We’re not going to get back into it playing like that. Into 3 minutes of added time. It’s a goal for Tranmere. It’s utter chaos in the away end. Regan Hendry was the scorer,  from a Cameron Norman header on 90+1 ⚽. The limbs have barely subsided by the time the whistle goes on 90+3. 1-1 the result but you wouldn’t believe that we hadn’t just won it from the reaction of the crowd and players.

Not a pretty sight but a point on the road will do nicely after the performance. Great limbs at the end though. Celebrated like a win, Love a late equaliser. The Rovers are lacking somewhat in sharpness up-front although Dennis did score last week. There is more energy than quality in some of the options. Zak was getting good space down the left but there were never any options for him. Same for Omari getting frustrated trying to go forwards and having to go backwards. It got so bad, the fans were shouting “wrong way to help out in case they were confused about which way to go. It was almost like there was a force field round the box to stop them straying in there. Still, we got to sit in the comfy seats, listening to some decent tunes, in the sunshine with a belly full of Nando’s. Have had worse days out. That late goal definitely added a rose tint to the whole day. It will be a while before the MK sees limbs like that again. Up the comeback Whites.

POTM: Goes to Chris Merrie 🏅 for being the only player who seemed to want the ball today.

The Scran’O’meter doesn’t usually score external eateries but is always up for a Cheeky Nadno’s. This one scored a yummy 8.5. There was no full fat Coke on sale in the ground. Football catering starting to go WOKE. What next? Alcohol free beer?

The officials officiated without much drama. Needed to do a bit more about the MK players falling over constantly. Maybe a breathalyser. Rolling around at the slightest touch seems to be normal and accepted now. That and kicking the ball away rarely get punished. Omari must have drawn the short straw today.

Bottle tops were left on!

See you soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Inside with Robbie

Outside the MK

Cheeky Nandos

Kent Stop This Feeling

Tranmere Rovers away to Gillingham FC In EFL 2 at the Priestfield

The Rovers face the Gills on a sunny September day by the Medway. Not only sunny in Sussex then. Last time we saw the whites play was here back in March when a game of 2 halves saw us draw 1-1. The Rovs are unbeaten in the league so far with 8 points from the first 4. It's hardly been a goal fest with 3 scored, all by Omari Patrick. Have we jinxed that by coming here today? We will find out soon enough. The Gills have been flying and are sitting 2nd in the league having lost top spot after losing away to Doncaster last time out. It will be a tough game for the Whites. There are lots of new faces in the Tranmere squad. Luke is still in goal. Captain Tom (Davies) and Jordan Turnbull are familiar faces at the back. As is Connor Wood at left back. Newbie Cameron Norman is at right back, a position previously held by Lee O'Connor. Lee is now back in his preferred position of centre mid. Along side him is Regan Hendry. Kieron Morris and reigning top scored Omari Patrick are the wide players. Connor Jennings (O,E,O) , we still love him, and Josh Davison are upfront. Some new names on the bench with Zak Bradshaw and Saidou Khan. Up front for the Gills is none other than ex-Tranmere and more recently ex-Crewe, Elliott Nevitt. Will he score against the side the plucked him from Step 5 to become a professional EFL player. It's iNeveittable!

The teams swap ends after the toss and the Rovers are playing towards the 25 year old temporary stand. We are on one side at that end of the pitch. The play is all down the other end to start with. The Rovers are under fairly constant pressure and struggling to get the ball clear of their defensive 1/3. Tranmere start to get back into the game after 10 minutes or so and get a corner on 15. We dominate for about 5 minutes before it evens out a bit. Neither side is playing great football. There some odd moments as Nevitt blasts over on 34. We all cheer when Lapsli is booked    for dissent on 35. That's how dull it is! We get our first shot on target from Omari on 36 but it's well saved. They get another yellow on 38 for a bad foul on Connor. The score is kept level as Kieron and Connor are both needed to make defensive blocks. There is one more chance at each end as Davison hits wide and Gbodes hit over. No score at the break. Only another 45 minutes and we can go home.

Tranmere are the first to attack but poor defending leads to a goal for the Gills on 48. The Rovers are soon back in control of the ball but can't get a clear chance. That is until Omari forces a good save on 52. 1-0. He is back in action a minute later but his shot is blocked an goes out for a corner. Hendry takes it and Connor heads it just over the bar. Nigel rings the changes on 57 with Saunders in for Patrick, Luke Norris for Josh Davison and Saidou Khan for Lee O'Connor. It's Khan's first outing for the Whites and we're hoping he can bring a bit of energy and creativity. Not sure why Omari has gone though as he has scored all Rovers goal so far this season. Tranmere are still getting plenty of the ball. There are a hectic few minutes as Saunders and Morris both have shots blocked. Then Nevitt heads over again on 60. There is a 2nd yellow for Coleman for a foul on Khan on 61 and the Gills are down to 10 for the last half hour. Plenty of time for the Whites to get back on terms with the depleted hosts. We are getting all of the ball but struggling to make an impact with it. We get a flurry of corners but can't get on the end of them. There is a good spell while Turnbull and Davis stay up front when Khan and Hendry taking up defensive duties. The addition of Khan has added a bit of impetus in midfield. He's also getting up front where he forces a good save on 71. The Rovers lack of threat is summed up when one of the Gills is booked for time wasting with 15 minutes to go while a goal up at home. Another Rovers change as Kieron Morris makes way for Kristian Dennis. The Gills make their changes on 81 and they pay off. Jayden Clarke turns the ball over while the Whites are pressing high and makes it count on 83. 2-0. Looked a mile off side to us but we were sitting level with it so what would we know. Tranmere continue to press and have tons of room for Cameron Norman on the right but can't beat the Gills defence. Jayden Clarke does it again on 83 after dispossessing Khan. He is clearly on side this time. 3-0 to the hosts. Two minutes into injury time and Turnbull is replaced by Zak Bradshaw. In the 5th and last minute of injury time, Harvey Saunders heads over what is probably Rovers best chance of the game. FFS. Not a great day out for the SWA.

If you are going to lose your unbeaten record, do it in style. Tranmere had enough of the possession to dominate the games especially in the 2nd half. Just not enough creativity to get a goal against a team that sit back and defend well. There were enough corners and crosses towards the end to scrape a goal or 2. but it was probably too late by then. Losing possession when pressing high is never good but to do it twice is unforgivable. The first goal came from nothing and we were still in it until the last 5. Not a good watch for the 281 travelling Tranmere fans. It was, however, good to put some faces to names for the new boys. Omari Patrick and Josh Davison look like they mean business and will hopefully start impacting results soon. Khan looked very good in his first game and made a difference. Our Nigel need to work out his striker options quickly as we can't get the ball in the net. Planning how to defend when pressing high doesn't seem to have been a top priority on the training ground. Probably because we are usually sitting back and the vertigo of getting so high up the pitch made us dizzy. At one point all the big defenders were up front leaving Hendry and Khan to hold the fort. Hopefully there will be a good reaction at Colchester next week but no-one will be betting their house on it. The defence looked good in the first half, keeping it solid as were slowly got a foot in the game. The SWA were superb with plenty of singing. Even managed a bit of Tequila. Thanks to Gillingham for the hospitality and very discreet stewarding. It was the MK derby today and there were stewarding issues in SW19 again! Might have to give that a miss when it comes round in January.

POTM: O.E.O. I has to be the man we saved from Wrexham, Connor Jennings. September belongs to him after all and he always gives 110% for the badge.

The ref received plenty of feedback on his performance today. None of it positive and most of it justified. The Gills ran rings round him with their well rehearsed dives. Tom Davis (not our Captain Tom, the Olympic one) would quaking in his slides if he hadn't just retired. Again. Maybe he's coaching this lot as they are very good at it. Ref showed a bit of steel in sending off Coleman though. The 2nd goal looked off-side but that really didn't make any difference.

The Scran'o'meter was disallowed as motorway services don't count. Sorry Clackett Lane. No prize today.

Bottle to report: Bottles of water and Coke were purchased with the tops still on. Halleluiah.

The stewarding could not have been better. Just let the SWA do their thing and were polite and discreet. Not an angry Womble in sight.

Our own international break start now so see you in a couple of weeks.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Sunny in Kent

Right where you Left me

Newhaven FC visited Billingshurst FC in the 1st round of the Sussex Challenge Cup

The Dockers are off to Jubilee Fields to play Hurst or Billie in the first round of the County Cup. Heard that fixture before somewhere. We were here in 2021 for the 1st round of the Sussex Cup. That night we had an early 2 goal lead and lost to a late goal . There were a lot of changes to the team that night after winning 10-0 on the Saturday. This is the fourth of five cup competitions to start this season. We are already out of the PB Cup after a defeat to Crowborough and the FA Cup after a thrashing by YM. We are through to the VASE second round though. The RUR cup starts next week away to YM. Glad we are missing that. There is quite a bit of team news today with a couple of new faces. Jonny Barnes-Galloway is in goal. Hope he doesn't start rapping or managing a Wirral based EFL team. In front of him are Josh Tuck and new boy, Reagan Clarke-Salter. Have the managers been to the sales in the double-barrelled player shop? Outside them are Bailie, left, and Jacob Thomson on the right. Harry Reed and Cai Prichard are in the middle with Cal and Luka out wide. Shonk and Lee are up front. The constant changes at the back again can't be helping the team to settle. Praying for a clean sheet today. We don't get to see Billingshurst very often as they are the league below the Dockers but we still recognise one of the players, Archie Goddard. Fortunately he is on the bench today because he caused the Dockers all sorts of problems last time we were here. Hope he stays sitting down. The weather has been really wet for the last couple of hours but the pitch looks OK. Hope it isn't too slippery as that won't suit the Dockers at all. At least it's not postponed as we half expected. Hope it stays dry for the match otherwise it could get very cosy all sheltered in the little stand.

The Dockers kick off in the drizzle. They are trying to attack but the linesman keeps flagging off- side. Don't think he's getting many of them right as he lets Lee go when a mile off and then flags again when Bailie is a mile on-side. A mile may be an exaggeration and it was more like half a yard or 0.457 metres or 1/3520 of a mile. Luca gets the first goal on 20 ⚽when he cuts in from the left and drags it backwards and forwards across the box to find a shot. It goes in with Lee maybe getting the final touch. 0-1. The lead lasts 5 minutes and the leveller is a Cal style left foot curling worldie. Jonny gets a good touch on it but can't keep it out. 1-1. The next drama is Lee being awarded a penalty for being pulled back as he runs into the box. It's not a bad pen, hard and low, but the keeper makes a good save. Still 1-1 as we break for half time and a chance to get out of the rain.

It's raining hard as the players come back out. The Hurst have made a sub and it's no. 17, Archie Goddard coming on. The Dockers have replaced the injured Josh Tuck with Koby Farrell. We're playing out from the back but give it away again. The resulting shot is saved by Jonny but spills to ….. Archie who makes no mistake from the tight angle. 2-1. The Dockers trailing. Lee nearly levels when he gets clear on 51 but his shot is wide. We get a bit of lucky as the Billie's striker is clearly pulled back in the Docker's box but the ref isn't interested. Phew! Luca and Cal have now swapped wings so both are on their favoured foot. It has a great impact as Cal's great cross from the left finds Shonk at the far post on 61 ⚽. 2-2. It's Cal on the left again as he pulls it back for Lee on 65 ⚽. Dockers leading again. 2-3. The Hurst are pressing and there is a minor disagreement between Koby and Archie(17). It turns into a big debate with lots of players joining in but he ref quickly calms it down and books both players. Archie then tries to continue the disagreement by going head to head with Bailie. Big mistake. HUGE. Silly boy. He is subbed shortly after. Good move as he wouldn't have last much longer before a second yellow. It's a big relief for the Dockers as he is such a threat on goal. The hosts pile on the pressure but can't put a good move together. The Dockers are defending for their lives and smashing everything clear. It's enough to hang on to the win. 2-3. Job done. Time to paddle off home.

The Dockers are on another cup run. And through to the 2nd round of the County Cup for the 3rd year in a row. Didn't get there in 2021, funny that. Tonight was another game that wasn't a great watch and with some major SBT at the end. They hung on somehow and scored enough at the other end to get the job done. We were glad to see the Billie's no. 17 on the bench. Like we predicted he was a handful when he came on and put them in the lead finishing well. He's a tricky and pacey player so we were very happy when he was subbed off. Although we had to celebrate quietly as his mum and dad were near us in the crowd. There were a lot of lack lustre performances and we can see a few changes being made for Saturday. Josh got a bit shouty when it was all going a bit Pete Tong (like another Tuck we know). Hope he's not too badly injured. Finally, at least towards the end, the wingers were playing on their proper side. Should be a rule banning inverted wingers. Might start a petition📝. The new/stand-in keeper did OK. Their first goal was bound for the top corner and he did really well to even get a hand on it. Thanks to the ground staff for making and keeping the pitch playable in such bad weather. It was starting to cut up a bit but was so much better than a lot of pitches out there. An "enjoyable" trip into darkest West Sussex. Just got to wait for the 2nd round draw now. Hopefully someone that we have a chance of beating and not get a battering from like the last couple of years. Off home to dry out now. There was a game at Fort Road tonight. Eastbourne Utd beating Wick 4-0. No news of what time the ferry came in. Will have to check the match report.

POTM: A lot of poor performances out there but Cal got a couple of crucial assists so gets the award.

This ref doesn't seem to have consistency in his skill set. Or does he?. It was a difficult game in the rain to be fair. And speaking of rain, how does a linesperson wearing glasses see in what was fairly constant rain? Not criticising, just curious. Also the linesperson wearing glasses in the rain was by far the better of the 2. "No glasses" didn't get much right but it did even up in the 2nd half.

Scran'o'meter loved the milky hot chocolate, 9/10.

See you soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Arrived at Billie

Got dark quick

Tonight's teams

(You've gotta) Goal With It

Newhaven FC at home to Saltdean United FC in the SCFL Premier League at Fort Road

The Dockers ⚓host local rivals, the Tigers 🐯, on a warm late summer 🌇 evening by the Ouse. We can't remember playing the Tigers without the weather being horrific but maybe it's always like that at Hill Park. It's nice at here Fort Road but the nights are drawing in earlier. You know what that means, Winter in Coming! But not yet as it's still shorts weather. The Dockers have been struggling since the start of the season and we don't expect tonight to be any different. Kieron will have the Tigers purring, well organised and motivated. The Dockers have had a weekend off, kind of. Their game in the FA Vase 1st round was abandoned without kicking off. Tooting Bec, who were the home team, forgot their kit. The game has been deemed to be an Away Walkover so we are through to the 2nd Round . That could be considered a cup run in the Dockers current form. This is non-league football so we won't mock the very embarrassed club and it's hard working volunteers. Instead we will have another laugh at the time that Arsenal Women had to buy socks in the Chelsea Club Shop before the game could start due to a sock clash. Time for some team news. The BIG news is that Josh Tuck is back. Not sure if it's for long but we hope so. We had heard he signed for Lancing and we were missing him badly. His arrival may be in some way connected to the departure of Max Vardy who has signed for Seaford. Good luck Max. Bussy is back which is very good news. Across the back line is Reedy, Josh, Bailie and Etienne. Charlie, Tom and Warwick are in the midfield. Up front are Lee on the left, Shonk on the right and Jake in the middle. There are some familiar names in the Tigers squad. Old favourite and ex Docker, Aaron Windsor, is at left back, No doubt that he will be covering a few miles up and down the wing from there. Herbie Rogers is up front having signed from Seaford. Badger 🦡becoming a Tiger🐅. Both have stripes but that's about it. On the bench are ex-Docker under 23's Alex 'Patch' Patching and Toby Reeder. Hoping that they are still on the bench at 90 minutes. The Tigers form, hasn't been great and they only have a single point from the first 4 games. Hoping that's 1 from 5 games after today. We are back to 2 Rogers and 2 Robinsons on the pitch today, just not all the same ones are before. This is our 200th game watching football, both good (rarely) and not so good (Mostly, I'm looking at you Tranmere). Wonder in which camp this game will fall.

The Dockers make a good start with an early goal. It's great through ball by Shock to Lee who rounds the keeper then plays a reverse pass into the opposite corner beating the last defender on 5 ⚽. Lee looks to be playing really well tonight with some great early touches of the ball. Reedy gets clear on the overlap down the right but is tripped from behind. Free kick but no card!. Ref maybe forgotten his pencil ✏️ today. Or is this one of those that uses crayons 🖍️. The Dockers extend their lead on 20 ⚽ when Jake fires in a rocket form outside the box🚀. Jake scores again on 22 but the lino rules it out for off-side. Lee tells the ref where to stick his crayons now that he appears to have found them and heads off to the sinbin for a 10 minute nap😴. The lines person weathers the storm of abuse (sorry😶) for a while then eventually explains that Jake bad been off-side but moved back on side after the ball is played. Why he couldn't have indicated that at the time only he knows. Warwick is all over the pitch tonight and gets his reward when he rounds the keeper to find the net from an impossibly tight angle on 24⚽. It's almost 4 as Josh heads just wide on 31. Lee returns to the pitch after his lie down to get the Dockers back up to 11. However, it's not long before the Tigers get a goal. The Dockers fail to deal with a long ball and it's dispatched past Bussy into the net on 35. 3-1. Tom Vickers goes in for a thumping 50:50 tackle in the centre circle. His opponent doesn't get up but play continues. The ref eventually stops play so the poor dying player can be read the last rights or maybe get some treatment. The Tigers swarm round the ref trying to get Tom booked for stamping. Really🙄. The whistle goes with no further drama.

The second half starts well with the arrival of the ferry 🚢 at 8.52. Eight minutes early, top marks Captain. The Dockers are less fluid since the break. Jake comes close on 57 but hits it just wide. The changes start on 58 as Jack Shonk makes way for defender Jacob Thomson. Reedy moves up to right wing. The Tigers are playing the ref well and getting all the decisions. The Dockers defence is caught out again and Patch makes no mistake on 65. 3-2. It's going to be a nervy last 25 for the Reds. Be a miracle if we can hang on to the lead that long. There is a big cheer 📣 on 73 as the ref finally blows his whistle😮‍💨 for a foul on a Dockers player. Not sure if he meant it. Wherever he did or not, it's probably the last time. The Tigers get a good chance on 74 but it goes wide. A minute later and it's in the net or is it? No it's just wide again. Still 3-2. Dockers are clinging on here. Josh is injured and gets treatment on the pitch. Ref makes him go off to get it bandaged. Down to 10 men again. Dockers are awarded a throw deep in the attacking half. They look like they preparing for a corner and nobody goes to take the throw. Etienne eventually goes over but before he gets a chance is booked for time wasting 🤷‍♀️. Josh eventually rejoins the field with a very blue bandage round his head. He is promptly booked for something🖍️. Harry Reed is replaced on 85 by Cai Pritchard who is new to us. The Dockers manage to hang on to the lead despite their own, the refs and the Tigers best efforts. 3-2 the Reds 👏.

That was great at the beginning and nervy at the end. The Dockers dominated to start with and probably thought they had finished it off in 25 minutes with 3 goals. The Tigers thought otherwise and never gave up. There are few missing for the Dockers today although they looked like their old selves to start.  They slipped back to being their new selves as the game progressed. Josh Tuck being back made a big difference and we can't wait until he in teamed up with Robbie Keith again. Soon please 🙏. Our favourite young Docker from a couple of years ago , Aaron Windsor had a really good game. Their second goal was scored by ex-U23 Docker, Patch. Looks like they are flourishing under Kieron who was their U23 coach until taking up the role at Saltdean. Looks like he is starting to stabilise the team as it all went a bit Pete Tong after the money dried up and they went from 2nd in the league to battling relegation. Judging by tonight's spirited performance, they are going to give every team a hard scrap. Dockers are up to 8th so looking better although still a bit flaky at the back. Tonight was our 200th game and 200th match report. Hope the next 200 are just as much fun.

POTM: Tough one today as there were some good performances all over the pitch. The award goes to Ryan Warwick for his influence throughout the game and a great goal 🏅. Special mention goes to Aaron AAAZZZZAA Winsor for a fantastic performance having a big impact on the game for a left back. Well done.

The ref had a bad day at the office. The first sinbin we've seen in over a year despite refs putting up with much worst abuse than Lee's expletive that didn't seem aimed at anyone in particular. More than once he let play continue despite a player down on the floor with a head injury. So, in summary , inconsistent and ineffective. Good banter with the crowd though. Not. We are left wondering if he uses FA approved crayons or brings his own. #crayola

Ferry watch: The Seven Sisters was early today with the 9pm arrival docking at 8:52. Good driving.

See you soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

A nice evening at Fort Road

Confused of BN9

Millpond

Tatts Don't Impress Me Much

Newhaven FC at home to Bexhill United FC in the SCFL Premier League at Fort Road

The Dockers ⚓host the Pirates 🏴‍☠️ in the much re-arranged and now moved fixture. It was due to be held at Bexhill on Wednesday, then Tuesday and suddenly it was moved to Fort Road on Saturday. Who know what's going on but we don't care as it means we can walk down on a sunny afternoon by the River Ouse🔆. The Dockers have had a patchy start to the season having not won since the opening day and drawn after going behind against YM at home last week. The Pirates have had a worse start and have lost their last four. Neither team is setting the league table alight with both in the bottom half. There is no sign of Bussy and Josh James, new name to us, is in goal. The backline is one we've seen before maybe wish we hadn't. Max and Harry are out wide with Tom and Billy in the middle. No sign of Bailey or Robbie.  Blunty and Charlie are in the midfield with Warwick and Cal out wide. Warwick is better as a number 8 but we seem to be a bit short of wingers while Little is out. Short of short wingers then!😂 🧥➡🚪. He is still working with the coaches so hope he is back soon. No sign of Luca either. Up front are Shonk and Lee. There is a new name on the bench in the shape of a left back Etienne Frimpong. Tarum Rohilla is also on the bench. This is the first time we have seen him this season but he was around last season. Good player, hope he hangs around. It looks like the Pirates might only have two subs. Let's see how we get on.

The Dockers get couple of early half chances as they attack the skate park end. No-one is surprised when we don't score as our early game form is non-existent at the moment. Our defence is looking ropey. No surprise there either, we are not sure who is in midfield and who in central defence. Looks like Tom and Charlie are interchanging. It's a good plan but not sure it's working. Or it might not be a plan at all and it's just a bit chaotic in front of goal. The defending is at fault when the Pirates get down the left wing and are allowed to run through everyone from wide left, deep into the box. The resulting low cross is put into the net on 21. A well deserved lead. Can we hang on until the break without conceding again? Against the run of play, the Dockers break and a deep cross is headed in at the back post by Tom. It's off-side and the lino got it spot on this time. The Dockers are still putting themselves under pressure and but helped out by Josh Jones who makes a great double save on 30. Warwick is decisive at the edge of the box but his shot is blasted well over. Max tries an overhead kick from a corner. It's very tame and not very overhead. Wayne Rooney it wasn't. Highlight of the first half is when a couple of Spitfires do a flypast  on their way home from Eastbourne Airbourne✈️✈️. Excitement over, Cal goes down injured in the middle under a nasty challenge and the ref waves to play-on. Play continues until the ball goes out a minute or so later. Cal is still down and when his treatment is finished, the ref pulls the play back to point of the foul. Probably the longest advantage we have ever seen played that was then pulled back when no advantage was gained👀. We don't make anything of the freekick and the half is over thankfully. 1-0 to the visitors.

The Pirates and the officials are ready to kick off on time but there is no sign of the Dockers. Have they decided not to come back out? They eventually arrive and the reason for the delay is obvious. There have been 3 changes with Tom, Max and Billy being replaced by Koby, Tarun and Etienne. Big change to swap out most of the defence in one go. First half defending could have been worse.  And for about 10 minutes it is worse. It's very nervy at the back. We do start to settle a little with the occasional attack being the best form of defence. Lee gets clear but stumbles as he runs into the box and the chance is gone. Koby is booked for a very late challenge and then Shonk is replaced by Jake on 57. Straight swap. Cal is dogged on the right wing and somehow wins a corner. He takes it himself and his inswinger goes straight into the net ⚽. Is it deflected?, maybe, who cares. The Dockers are level on 58. He strikes again 2 minutes later as he curls a long range left footed shot in from the right corner of the penalty box on 60 ⚽. 2-1 to the Dockers. The keeper might have a couple of assists, we can't be sure but he isn't claiming either goal😶. He gets a bit of stick from the crowd (sorry😔) but it doesn't seem to put him off any more than before😂. There is a drink break as it warm and the Dockers seem to improve a little. Not sure what they were drinking 🍹. There is a nasty foul on Reedy on 80 as he gets an elbow in the head. The play carries on regardless but is eventually stopped. Harry is subbed off to be replaced by Mo. Charlie goes into Reedy's right back position and Mo goes up front. At least one player is smiling. The Pirates press in the remaining minutes and they get the inevitable late equaliser on 90+1. We will have to hang on for about another 5 minutes before the whistle goes. The last bit of entertainment comes on 90+3 when the Pirates no.3 has to walk the plank as he gets a straight red    for dissent. Opps. He gets a round of applause (that's our excuse👏) on his way back to the tunnel. Too late to make any difference to the game. It's all over and the Dockers snatch a draw from the jaws of victory in the late minutes yet again 🤷‍♂️.

That's another point for the Dockers and it could be said that they were unlucky to concede the late goal. They were lucky to score 2 goals from almost nowhere thanks to the fantastic skills of Calum Edwards. Poor, or complete lack of, decision making and sloppy play making it far too easy for the visitors who for some reason looked happy with a draw. They will look back and be disappointed that they didn't put the floundering Dockers to the sword ⚔ early on and claimed all the booty 💰 for themselves. There is lots of work for the Reds to do with the three changes at halftime being a big statement that then didn't work. There are some players still to come back and it's peak holibobs season so players will be sitting on the beach 🏖 instead of the bench. It will settle down and improve, meanwhile the wonder goals are papering over the cracks. If we wanted to watch football this bad we could have stayed in and watched Tranmere on Sky+. Except we don't have Sky Sports!  Thinking a few more trips to the mighty Dripping Pan might be coming up. But, the sun is shining and there was a lovely breeze walking home along the cliff top. Stunning views too.

The ref was good. Got the big things right although definitely had his own style. Liking the "refs with loads of tats" thing too. Don't see that very often. If ever, although we suspect that Mike Dean has a discreet LFC tattoo somewhere😶. Line keeping was it's usual hit and miss self but the disallowed goal was spot on. A good half a yard off. 45.7cms to those that are metricated. Is football ever going metric?

POTM: Goes to Cal 🏅 for proving the wallpaper, paste, pasting brushes, pasting table and everything else required to paper over the cracks. The jury is still out on whether the keeper provided an assist or two by footing the ladder for Cal. Inverted wingers rule.

Ferry watch: The ferry ⛴ was in when we arrived and still there when we left. Can't keep up with this timetable any more.

See you soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Sunny afternoon at Fort Road

Today's teams

Scenic route home

Rook The Casbah

Lewes FC away to Bognor Regis Town FC in the Isthmian Premier League at the MKM Arena

The Rocks play host to the Rooks in a Sussex derby at the Nye Camp. East meets West on an autumnal evening on the Sussex coast. Hopefully the rain seems to have been and gone for today.  Fingers crossed it stays dry. We have split loyalties tonight as we love our local team, the Rooks, but Dougie is back at Rocks at four seasons at the Hornets🐝. He came off the bench late on in their 3-2 loss away at Cheshunt. The Rooks won 2-0 at home to Chatham despite having a change of manager and big turnover of players in the summer. A few favourites have gone as we saw at the Hornets. Dougie looks like he is playing left mid field or left wing. Making use of his left foot🦶.

The Rocks are on top from the start and the Rooks look sloppy in possession. Neither can get a good shot on goal as both are defending well. There is an odd incident where the Rock's striker appears to be pushed in the back by a Rooks defender who then goes down like he's been shot in the ear. It's ends up as a Rooks free kick near their corner flag. Bizarre. Hope that's not how it's going to continue with lots of unnecessary rolling around pretending to be dying. Not great to watch. It doesn't re-occur and it turns into a good flowing game although not much of it in the final 3rds. The Rocks have the upper hand with a little more quality their attacking possession. Ben Mundele is replaced by Patrick Muirhead on 21 for an injury off the ball that looked like a hamstring. Was on his feet to leave the pitch so hope he's ok soon. At one point, the Rooks keeper catches the ball safely and as he tries to get to the edge of the box, he is obstructed by a Rock who goes theatrically flying to the floor. There is a minor melee with about 1/3 of each team joining in. The ref breaks it up quickly and it's eventually a Rooks free kick. It was clearly obstruction but not sure if anyone got booked in the chaos. The Rooks have the better of the last 10 minutes of the half getting joy down their right wing with Matt Warren getting deep and putting in some good crosses. Can't remember at the moment who is playing on the left for Bognor and should be stopping these runs but sure the name will come to us 😂. The Rocks defence 🧱 holds firm and it's goalless at the break.

The Rooks last burst seems to have levelled things up a bit after the restart with neither side having much quality in possession. Success for both teams looks most likely to happen on the break. Dougie goes off after 58 to be replaced by Jasper Mather. Don't have to feel guilty about supporting the Rooks now. It's lively but still without much quality except for the occasional stepover or backheel. Of the two, the Rooks keeper is called into action to make the better saves which he does well. The breakthrough comes for the Rooks when a cross is flicked on and tapped home by Eddie Allsop on 85 ⚽ . Cue about 2 minutes of limbs from the Red and Black army behind the goal. The 5 minutes of added time seem to take an age ⏳️ with the Rocks taking (or trying to take) control. Lewes are calm in possession but Bognor get some chances. The whistle goes and it's bedlam behind the goal. All the Rooks players come over to share the victory with the fans. Great game. Home time🚗🏠.

The was a really enjoyable game to watch. The late goal helped but it would still have been good had it finished 0-0. But it didn't🤭. Six points from the first two games for the rebuilt Lewes team under new manager Craig Nelson. Think the fans love him already. There is work to do for Bognor who weren't far off.  There would have been no complaint if they had won it as they should have been ahead at the break. We haven't seen a scrap 🥊on that scale for a while. It was a bit half-hearted but they don't seem to get out of hand anymore. Maybe we just go to the nicest places😁. It was good to see Dougie playing more forward than at Horsham. Hopefully back to goalscoring form soon as he was up to 7 in the season cut short by Covid which was his last at the Rocks before joining the Hornets. Can't remember how many he scored in Yellow and Green but maybe there were one or two that sneaked through without us noticing. Glad we came along tonight.  It was a great game and an enjoyable evening with the bonus out 3 points heading east on the A27.

POTM: Going for 2 today. Dougie for an astonishing bit of footwork defending at the edge of the box. Where has he been hiding those skills 🤷? And for the Rooks it goes to Marcus Sablier. We love a pacy winger. He had a great game and his replacement, Mal Morris did well too.

The ref did well. One or two strange decisions need to give the crowd something to "Boo"📣. Nothing that impacted the result though. It wasn't clear who he was booking and why at times.

The Scran'O'meter had a lovely night out and awarded 8/10 for the Haloumi Burger 🍔with chilli 🌶️jam and 9.5 for the hot chocolate ☕. The Nye Camp still top of the hot chocolate league table even though Doug's Tuck Shop has gone. Might start a petition 📝 to get it back.

See you at Fort Road at the Weekend.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Back at the Nye Camp

The lights are on

A late goal for Lewes

The Rocks

MKM Area apparently

YM Does It Always Rain On Me?

Newhaven FC away to Horsham YMCA in the FA Cup Extra-Preliminary round at the Herbert Direct Stadium

Newhaven FC away to Horsham YMCA in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round at the Herbert Direct Stadium The FA Cup starts here with the Dockers visit the YM at Gorings Mead with just 6 rounds to go to reach the first round proper. It's a nice ground surrounded by tall trees and we're in the main stand sitting on seats that came from the Withdean Stadium. Last time we sat on these was to watch Tranmere lose to Brighton. Hoping for a better result today and a the forecast is for a bit less rain. We've got raffle tickets so will need to keep and ear👂🏻 out and fingers crossed 🤞🏻at half-time. It's a mixed up line up and we're not quite sure who is playing where. Hope they know what they are doing. Bussy we know about the backline consists of Billy and Ash Wadhams with Max and maybe Tom in the middle. Or it could be Joe Summerbell and tom in the 6. Maybe they don't know either. Charlie Curran is on the left wing and it might be Koby or Warwick on the right. Lee and Jake are up front. Bailey, Shonk and Luca are on the bench. Don't recognise any of the YM players. The pitch seems very short and wide but at least the grass has been cut. There is a bit of a slope in places but it's better than many. The YM won their first game against Little Common 5-0 which put them top of the league which will fill them with confidence. The Dockers beat the Varndeanians 2-1 at Fort Road so no big statement to start the season. Perhaps they peaked in pre-season as they won all 6 games. Let's see how it goes.

The YM are on it from the start. Very intense and aggressive. The first chance goes to teg Dockers though as Tom heads just over. It's the hosts who are first on the score sheet as a low cross is deflected in off a dockers leg on 8. A goal down, the Dockers need to settle and get a grip on the game. They don't and it's 2-0 after 14 minutes. Important third goal, etc, etc. The YM are denied it as they head just over on 18. The first sub of the day is the injured Charlie Curran who was hurt in a "50-50" tackle a few minutes ago. No one seems to fill Charlie's role of the left as his replacement, Reedy, goes on the right wing. Looks like Ash has the left wing to himself. That's a lot of space to fill. Bussy jumps to punch a ball clear at the edge of the box and is clattered into by a YM striker. He goes down badly, not m moving and is soon surrounded by support staff. He is down for about 15 minutes before he gets up and is applauded as he is helped off the pitch. He is walking and conscious which is good but if it was serious he would be fighting them off to get back in goal. Hope he is OK. Get well soon Bussy. The replacement keeper is Roman Chiosa who we have seen before. He was around for pre-season but also playing the Whitehawk cup win a couple of seasons ago. Big performance needed from him today as he could have a busy afternoon that could start to look like a rugby score if the Dockers don't get it together. A big sigh of relief is breathed as the whistle goes for the break and the Dockers can get a stern talking to🗯.

Winner, winner, tofu dinner. We won a tub of celebrations in the half-time raffle. As tempting as it to spend the 2nd half in the car eating them. it's time to return to the torment.

A sub for the Dockers at half-time with Joss O'Halloran replacing Ash at left back. It's still a struggle for the Dockers but the important 3rd goal could change the game. The battle against the ref takes on a new twist as Max Vardy is booked for an alleged foul off the ball. The ref didn't see as he was 15 yards away watching the play. So how he could give a yellow card is anybody's guess. Answers on a postcard to wedontknowwhatweredoing@thefa.com. Anyway, a freekick it is. It's taken 7 or 8 yards forward of where the alleged foul may or may not have taken place. It's curled into the box and ends up in the back of the Dockers net on 56. The ref chalks up his first assist. The Dockers first "shot" of target comes from Tom who shoots from range after a storming run up the pitch. It's tame and easily saved on 60. An attacking change is made a Vardy is replaced by Luca who goes on the left. The hosts are still dominating and score their fourth on 70. Is it an OG off the keeper? Who cares to be honest. Keepers not going to claim it. The Dockers defence is still all over the place. There is no cover from the mid-field either. It certainly isn't inspiring confidence in Roman who looks nervous in goal. The YM striker misses an open goal on 74. How did he put that wide. It's 5-0 on 40 from a great volley. Work rate and team work has made the difference but at last a little bit of quality. Shame it's for the wrong team. The Dockers finally manage to string together a couple of passes as Billy and Luca combine down the left wing. A decent cross to Shonk who scores the late consolation on 88⚽. It's a bit too late for a fight back now lads.  The YM miss again on 90+1 with almost the last kick of the game. Glad that's all over.

What a horror show that was. The Dockers were so good in pre-season but now seems to have forgotten all that training and who their new team mates are. This should have been a tight game between two good teams but the Dockers chose otherwise. The mid field and defence were non-existent. When you being ripped to bits that the back yet continue to pass out from the back was the cause of some real nail biting moments. A lot of work to do before Tuesday with the first away league game at Crawley Down. That's enough moaning for now. Congratulations to the YM and good luck n the next round of the FA cup. That energy and aggression could carry them far.

POTM: One player that really put in a shift was Billy. Also played a big part in the only goal. Well done 🏅.

The ref had a bit of a shocker too and the injuries may not have happened had he got a grip early on. The aggression of the YM crossed the line at times and the ref turned a blind eye to what was not far from judo at times. Though the tackle on Bussy was an easy yellow as there was no attempt to jump to play the ball yet the jumping Bussy got upended by the player going under him. The ref didn't even think it was a foul and had to give a dropped ball as he had let play to continue with the keeper unconscious on the floor. And the first of only 2 yellows was for an alleged tackle that he didn't see. It can't have been giving for stopping an attacking opportunity because he did nothing about those later on in the game. So what was it for? He didn't know because he was miles away watching the player with the ball. We should have kept quiet about not be able to moan about the refs as they were all acting like grown ups. It seems that there a still a few opinionated "Tories" out there to let us have a good moan every now and then.  Just hope it's not too often.

The Dockers are back to concentrating on the league. And the 3 other cups. See you somewhere soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Dockers taking a corner

We've arrived

Nice little ground

Newhaven on the BBC app!